In the manufacture of adipic acid by the carbonylation of butadiene using Group VIII catalysts, an aqueous solution containing adipic acid and/or methyl glutaric acid and caproic acid and/or valeric acid is formed. See, for example, Burke U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,333. It is desirable to remove the caproic acid and/or valeric acid from this aqueous solution and obtain an aqueous solution of adipic acid and/or methyl glutaric acid that contains less than about 100 parts per million of caproic and valeric acid.
It has been found that level of valeric acid and caproic acid in such aqueous solutions can be reduced by extraction with certain organic solvents. Although such an organic/aqueous extraction has been found to work well for reducing the level of the caproic or valeric acid in the aqueous phase to about 0.2 wt. %, further purification to 200 ppm or less requires an excessive amount of solvent or number of extractions. A solution to this problem, which dramatically increases the efficiency of residual valeric or caproic acid extraction from aqueous solutions, has now been found.